oken, the Romans fought steadily and
well. Hannibal now launched against their ranks the elephants attached
to the infantry, which, covered in steel armour and trumpeting loudly,
carried death and confusion into the Roman ranks. But still the legions
fought on obstinately and desperately until the sound of wild music
in their rear filled them with dismay, as Mago, with his division of
Numidian infantry, emerged from his hiding place and fell upon the
Romans from behind.

Struck with terror at the sudden appearance of these wild soldiers, of
whose ferocity they had heard so much, the Romans lost all heart and
strove now only to escape. But it was in vain. The Carthaginian infantry
were in their front, the cavalry on their flank, the Numidians in their
rear.

Some ten thousand Roman soldiers only, keeping in a solid body, cut
their way through the cavalry and reached Piacenza.

Thirty thousand were slaughtered on the plain. Many were drowned in
trying to swim the Trebia, and only the legion which had remained to
guard the camp, the broken remains of the cavalry, and the body which
had escaped from Piacenza remained of the fifty thousand men whom
Sempronius commanded.

The exultation of the victors was unbounded. The hitherto invincible
legions of Rome had been crushed. The way to Rome was clear before them.
All the fatigues and hardships they had undergone were forgotten in the
hour of triumph, and their native allies believed that their freedom
from Rome was now assured.

The verdict of great commanders of all ages has assigned to the battle
of the Trebia the glory of being the greatest military exploit ever
performed. The genius of Hannibal was shown not only in the plan of
battle and the disposition of his troops, but in the perfection with
which they were handled, in the movements which he had himself invented
and taught them, and the marvellous discipline with which he had
inculcated them.

Napoleon the First assigned to Hannibal the leading place among the
great generals of the world, and the Trebia was his masterpiece. But the
Carthaginians, exulting in their victory, did not gauge the extent
of the stubbornness and resources of Rome. Sempronius himself set the
example to his countrymen. At Piacenza he rallied the remnants of his
army, and wrote to Rome, saying that he had been victorious, but that a
sudden storm had saved the enemy from destruction.

The senate understood the truth, but acted in the spiri